Each year, our team of readers, analysts and advocates gets together to swap some of our recent must-reads. From nonfiction tell-all’s to page-turning nailbiters, this year’s list took us from the sins of shooting an elephant to the ancient art of Korea’s haenyeo divers. A cautionary tale of nuclear war to a masterful reimagining of a familiar story. Whether existential enemies or childhood demons, here are our top books for greater perspective, deeper empathy and a little escape in 2025.
Burma Sahib
Paul Theroux
“The poem would begin: I saw my corpse conveyed one day, in the luggage van to Mandalay.”
In the autumn of 1922, 19-year-old Eric Blair became an officer in the British forces ruling over the Burmese sector of the Raj. This historical novel portrays the moral dilemmas and personal awakenings that shaped the young officer’s worldview and ultimately turned him into the beloved anti-colonial writer we now know as George Orwell.
James
Percival Everett
“I felt tired of the failures of men. They were always failing in the most basic ways, like looking down or away at the moment when they should be gutsy enough to meet your eye.”
This novel is a radical reworking of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, telling the story from the point of view of the enslaved man who accompanies Huck down the Mississippi River: Jim. So much more than a secondary character, James is a complex protagonist forced to codeswitch as illiterate as he fights for his freedom. Everett’s novel is a literary hat trick — a book that complicates an American classic and emerges as a work of exquisite originality.
The God of the Woods
Liz Moore
When a 13-year-old girl goes missing from her summer camp in the Adirondacks in 1975, it feels like one tragedy too many for her well-heeled parents, whose son, then age 8, had disappeared 14 years earlier. Setting the story in two different and absorbing timelines, Moore explores class dynamics, generational guilt and the difficulties of coming of age in a dynasty of secrets. It’s a gripping page-turner that will keep you engrossed until the end.
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America and the Making of a Crisis
Jonathan Blitzer
“I came to regard the knowing, unrushed voice on the other end of the line as the sound of history itself — following its own course, patient with my questions but not always responsive to them.”
Hundreds of thousands of people who arrive every year at America’s southern border are driven by persecution, hunger, crime and hope — all at extraordinary personal risk. In his extensive reporting, Blitzer details the historic roots of the crisis and the chronic political conflict within south and central America. “This vital and remarkable story has shaped the nation’s turbulent politics and culture in countless ways — and will almost certainly determine its future.”
The Light Eaters
Zoë Schlanger
“What plants illustrate best is that none of us can actually run from the impact of our environment and the environment of our parents. It’s already inside us.”
This is an absolutely mezmerizing book about the lessons to be gleaned from the greenery around us. Examining the latest botanical research, Schlanger details the elaborate ecosystems of learning and evolution that happen beneath our feet, challenging us to rethink the role of plants — and humans — in the natural world.
The Shadow King
Maaza Mengiste
“Make living your act of defiance. Record it all.”
Set during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King uncovers the overlooked stories of women soldiers in one of World War II’s earliest conflicts. Hirut, an orphaned maid in the household of Kidane, an officer in Emperor Haile Selassie’s army, struggles under his shifting cruelty as Italy’s forces advance. When Ethiopia’s hopes falter after the emperor’s exile, Hirut devises a bold plan to disguise a peasant as the emperor, becoming his guard and inspiring women to take up arms.
The Women
Kristin Hannah
In 1965, nursing student Frankie McGrath left southern California for the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam. As exposed to the combat and wounds of war as many of her male counterparts, the experience of women on the frontlines was nevertheless often overlooked, particularly upon their return. The Women honors the contributions of women during Vietnam and the challenges they, too, confronted in receiving post-deployment mental healthcare and recognition for their bravery as nurses, intelligence officers and more.
Yuval Noah Harari
“Knives and bombs do not themselves decide whom to kill. They are dumb tools, lacking the intelligence necessary to process information and make independent decisions. In contrast, AI can process information by itself, and thereby replace humans in decision making. AI isn’t a tool — it’s an agent.”
Nexus examines the role of information throughout human history, tracing its impact from the Stone Age to modern times. Delving into events like the Bible’s canonization, witch hunts, totalitarian regimes and today’s populist movements, Harari underscores how societies and systems have harnessed information for both progress and harm. And with the ecological collapse looming, misinformation thriving and the rise of AI, the topic couldn’t be more timely.
The Island of Sea Women
Lisa See
“You are not being punished for your anger. You’re being punished by your anger.”
Set on the island of Jeju, the story follows two girls who become divers in their village’s all-female haenyeo collective — an ancient Korean diving tradition. The novel follows the women from Japanese colonialism through World War II, the Korean War and beyond, exploring how these historical events shape their lives and choices. With its rich historical context and focus on gender and cultural norms, the novel is a beautiful portrait of the unintended conquences of the secrets society forces us to keep.
We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People
Nemonte Nenquimo
Born into the Waorani tribe of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, Nemonte Nenquimo was raised on plant medicine, foraging, oral storytelling and shamanism. In her teens, she left her indigenous village for the first time to study in the city. But after her ancestors began appearing in her dreams with an appeal to return to her native roots to protect her culture, she became a climate activist in the Upper Amazon, taking on the oil industry and deforestation of the Amazon. We Will Be Jaguars is her incredible story.
Patriot: A Memoir
Alexei Navalny
“We must do what they fear — tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most power weapon.”
For those of us who followed the trial — and trials — of Alexei Navalny, his memoir adds invaluable depth and humanity to his story. He began writing the book shortly after his near-fatal poisoning in 2020, sharing anecdotes from his journey into activism through his end-of-life correspondence from prison. Compiled by his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, “Through its pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply — a man of profound integrity and unyielding courage. Sharing his story will not only honor his memory but also inspire others to stand up for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that truly matter.”
The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels
Pamela Prickett, Stefan Timmermans
A work eight years in the making, two sociologists follow four individuals in Los Angeles, tracing the twisting paths that put each at risk of going unclaimed at death. The Unclaimed is about what happens when families aren’t there to claim their loved ones and when the government must step in. It’s a story of the rise of social fracturing, loneliness and inequality and what responsibility the living hold to care for the deceased.
